Belgian Waffles with Caramelized Apples & Maple Yogurt

Ok so I know I said I am not that into Valentine’s Day but seeing as my valentine has been requesting waffles about once a week since we met, I thought making them required a special occasion. My reason for holding off so long was the simple fact that we do not own a waffle maker – and I refused to buy one because where the heck do we fit it in our tiny apartment. The struggle for kitchen cabinet space is real. But I happened to find an old one in my parents’ basement and figured it was a sign.

These belgian waffles are ridiculously good – they are fluffy and light with an outer crust that actually stays crunchy long after being soaked in maple syrup. The apples were added because well, thats what I had around and I don’t consider breakfast complete without fruit, or yogurt for that matter. So feel free to mix up the toppings to suit your own weird breakfast requirements or whatever is in season.

I am pretending like I didn’t lick the plate clean but we all know that happened 30sec after the photo below was taken.

Slice apples into roughly ¼ inch slices and set in a pot over low/medium heat with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender - how tender is a matter of preference, personally I like the apples to still have a bit of crunch.

Mix the juice at the bottom of the apple pot into the yogurt, adding more maple syrup if it is not sweet enough for your liking.

Make the Waffle batter:

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, cream, melted butter, and yolks. Pour this into the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined (but still a little lumpy).

Using a stand or hand-held mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the whites into the rest of the batter. Let this sit 10-15 minutes while you heat up the waffle maker.